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Narragansett council declines to rescind short‑term rental ordinance after heated public testimony; motion fails 2-2
Summary
After extensive public comment and council debate, a motion to rescind Narragansett’s short-term rental ordinance failed on a 2-2 vote. Councilors agreed to keep the ordinance on the books while discussing expedited workshops to craft amendments and try to resolve outstanding litigation.
The Narragansett Town Council debated whether to rescind an ordinance regulating short‑term rentals and, after more than an hour of discussion and public comment, the motion to rescind failed in a 2-2 voice vote, leaving the ordinance on the books.
Councilor Jason Colonies, who placed the item on the agenda, said he believes the existing ordinance is “a little overbearing” and may be unenforceable while it remains under litigation. “I put this on the agenda because I ran on this,” Colonies said, arguing that removing the ordinance could clear the way to resolve litigation and allow the council to start anew with workshops. Councilors who supported rescinding emphasized they wanted to eliminate ongoing legal costs and then work quickly to draft a replacement.
Several council members and the town solicitor pressed for caution. Donna McNally, a councilor, asked the town solicitor whether rescinding would halt the litigation; the town solicitor replied that a rescind would likely lead the plaintiff to dismiss that particular suit and would “alleviate this particular lawsuit,” though it would not bar future legal challenges.
Residents who came forward in large numbers urged the council not to erase the ordinance from the municipal code. Jesse Pew of Birchwood Drive said rescinding “would be rushed” and risk creating policy instability that could deter property purchases and take years to replace. “There is no reason, in my opinion, to erase this from our books in two weeks,” Pew said, noting the ordinance resulted from years of study and outside consulting.
Other speakers, including Rupert Bridal, Harry Schofield and former councilor Steven Ferandy, said the ordinance had been developed over several councils with input from a national consultant (Granicus) and local stakeholders and argued the council should amend the ordinance through workshops rather than discarding months of work.
Council members split on the procedural and policy tradeoffs. Some said keeping the ordinance would allow the town to use existing language as a roadmap for targeted amendments; others said starting over would be cleaner and could remove the town from active litigation more quickly. Several councilors said they wanted immediate workshops and aimed to have new rules before the summer season.
In the end, the rescind motion tied 2-2 and failed. Council members agreed the option of creating dedicated workshops remains on the table; no replacement ordinance was adopted at the meeting.
What’s next: the ordinance remains on the books while councilors consider scheduling workshops to revise it. The town solicitor said litigation remains in superior court and that a full resolution could take significant time if pursued through discovery and trial.
Quotation highlights: “I put this on the agenda because I ran on this,” said Councilor Jason Colonies. “That does not prevent some future litigation,” the council president said when discussing legal risks. “There is no reason, in my opinion, to erase this from our books in two weeks,” said public commenter Jesse Pew.
The council did not adopt new short‑term rental rules at the session and instead left open the process for workshops and further public input.
